As 2011 is drawing to a close I wanted to try capture and put in writing my enthusiasm I have for the work i’m doing at the moment, and the possibilities and opportunities that lie ahead in 2012.

2011 has been the most eventful year running Pixelfish both professionally and personally, but fortunately it’s ending in the best possible way. We’re busier than ever, working on projects that are both pushing us and most importantly letting us have great fun with some awesome people.

Perception is everything

This year more than any other in my life I’ve come to the conclusion that your personal perception on reality, and understanding how to make it positive is key to staying motivated and happy. Any given situation, if you perceive it be a good/enjoyable/positive then it will be all those things, just as it can work the opposite.

Yes running a business may be daunting to many and yes there can certainly be some stressful moments, but for me these are far outweighed by the endless possibilities. I think this is accentuated by the industry we work in with the digital world evolving constantly. <Geek Alert> Things such as recently downloading and playing Grand Theft Auto 3 on my iPad really show how quickly things move on, I can vividly remember playing the game first time round on the Playstation 2 ten years ago, and now here I was playing it on this device which looks more like an ornament than a machine!</Geek Alert>

Opportunities

So what are these opportunities going into 2012 that i’m getting excited about? It’s a combination of things, those opportunities that I know of such as a collaborating with my talented brother who’s a furniture designer, working on a side project that all going well will help contribute to our industry, as well as all those opportunities sitting there waiting for us all.

Apologies that there may not be much point to this post but if it’s got you, even just a little bit excited about what you can do in 2012 then its done its job!

Merry Christmas and happy new year people.

I’ve just finished reading an article (view original article) by Ryan Carson on his Think Vitamin website outlining why he thinks we should work a 4 day week rather than 5. 

It was around about 18 months ago that I first came across the idea of introducing a shorter working week and at the time I simply passed it off as an ideological view with not much practicality. Having just completed reading Ryans article though, it started dredging up the idea again but this time I can start seeing some real value in potentially doing this.

How it can work.

Let me start off by saying I think a 4 day week can work but it’s not going to work for everyone or every type of business. In fact I think it would be quite limited in how many or what type of business it could work for. I think there can be a simple and perhaps rather crude device to work out who it would and would not work for - start off by asking yourself, “is my business philosophy quantity or quality?”. Simply put are you going for the numbers game, selling as much as you can as quickly as humanly possible. Or alternatively do you believe in delivering a quality product that takes whatever time it has to take, perhaps at times to the detriment of maximum efficiency.

I know this is rather dangerously pigeon holing businesses and of course you would hope most would be meeting somewhere in the middle. But this is where as a creative service led business we are in the fortunate position to explore the idea of a 4 day week.

The currency we deal in are ideas and people and if having a 4 day week improves the mental wellbeing and output then surely this is something worth considering. We all know the stereotypical creative, slightly aloof, free spirit with a desire to produce outstanding work. If having an extra day off means they can recharge, relax and be more enthusiastic for their work then I believe the 4 day week can work.

All unknown.

It wouldn’t be right without me stating that almost all of this is speculative with no real hard stats to back it up. Yes, productivity may remain the same in the short to mid term but surely once the novelty wears off it would only be natural if those lazy habits creep in, and then what . . will you be getting people demanding it goes down to a 3 day working week?!

Still no definitive answer.

I’m still not sure how in real life this could actually work as inevitably there will be the issues of not playing by the same rules as everyone else, which would more than likely lead to potential loss of business. There would also be resistance from the more traditional folk who believe a proper working week is 9-5, Monday to Friday, it’s not going to be easy to change their opinions. Would a client really understand the thought process behind a 4 day week and should they care? Surely if the results remain or improve then whether a 4 or 5 day week is worked is irrelevant.

This post perhaps hasn’t answered any questions but I hope it gets you to have think. I’ll throw it open to some of you, do you think a 4 day work could work or is it just some fanciful idea some lazy worker has come up with?

I love how easy it is to set up a personal wifi hotspot with my iPhone. Remote working has never been so easy!